The number of Washington children suspected of having a respiratory virus that is sweeping the nation has increased to 29, including children from Snohomish and Island counties, state Department of Health officials said Friday.
Kids from King, Grant, Chelan and Whatcom counties and the cities of Yakima and Spokane are being tested to see if they have enterovirus D68, said Kelly Stowe, a Department of Health spokeswoman.
A count of how many children from each county suspected of having the virus was not available Friday afternoon.
However, the Snohomish Health District said that one of three children suspected earlier this week of having the virus did not have it. One child and an infant are still suspected of having enterovirus D68, according to Katie Curtis, a spokeswoman for the public health agency.
Of the 29 children in the state suspected of having the virus, 83 percent have severe respiratory illness, Stowe said. She had no further information on their conditions.
Four hospitals are now treating children being tested for the virus: Seattle Children’s Hospital, where 24 of the children are being treated or have been treated; Swedish First Hill in Seattle with one case; Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima with three cases; and Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital in Spokane, with one case, Stowe said.
On Thursday, Seattle Children’s Hospital reported that five of their patients have required intensive care.
There have been no cases of enterovirus 68 confirmed in Washington. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta will test samples from 14 Washington patients to confirm, or not, that they have the virus. Test results are expected next week.
The virus has mostly affected children as it has spread across the nation over the past few weeks. It causes cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, cough, body and muscle aches, fever and, in more severe cases, difficulty breathing. Children with pre-existing breathing problems, such as asthma, are the most likely to be hospitalized.
As of Friday, the CDC had confirmed 97 cases in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri.
However, a television station in Indiana reported Friday that state health officials had confirmed that four children, who had been treated at a Chicago hospital, also had the virus. News organizations in Arkansas said there were three suspected cases in that state.
The virus is spread through coughs and sneezes or by touching surfaces that have been in contact with someone who is ill.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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